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GAME NOTES
PENSACOLA, Fla. – University of West Florida men's basketball will host Spring Hill College Sunday at 4:00 p.m. in the UWF Field House. The No. 16 Argos are coming off a Dec. 2 win vs. Valdosta State to open conference play. The matchup will be the second vs. Spring Hill this season. The Argos defeated the Badgers at SHC on Nov. 21.
The eight straight wins to start the season have put the Argos on the cusp of matching the best record to start a season. The 1997-1998 Argos began the season 9-0, which the current team would equal with a win Sunday.
"There's a lot of season left. We're still really, really early. We're 1-0 in the conference. We have to stay humble, stay hungry and know that we've got a lot more to play for," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer.
The contest is the second of four in a row at home in the month of December. The Argos will host West Alabama on Dec. 16 and then Montevallo on Dec. 18.
The Argos are currently riding a 13-game home winning streak, just six off the all-time longest streak in UWF history. The team has also won 15 straight non-conference games. A live broadcast of the contest vs. Spring Hill will be available at goargos.com/live.
ARGOS MOVE UP IN NATIONAL POLLS
* The UWF men's basketball program came in at No. 16 in the Division II Sports Information Directors Association Top 25 poll released Tuesday. The Argos (8-0) received 137 total points in the poll, 36 more than last week, as they climbed three spots from No. 19 to No. 16.
* The Argos also checked in to this week's NABC Division II men's basketball poll at No. 25. The Argos were one of three GSC teams in the NABC Division II Top 25. Christian Brothers was ranked No. 10. Valdosta State checked in at No. 22.
RESCHEDULED TIMES VS. WEST ALABAMA
* UWF basketball will take on West Alabama in GSC action Dec. 16. The times of the doubleheader have been pushed back due to graduation ceremonies on campus. The women's game, originally slated for 2:00 p.m., will now be played at 4:00 p.m. The men's game, originally scheduled for 4:00 p.m., will now be played at 6:00 p.m.
ARGOS KNOCK OFF VALDOSTA STATE
* Moter Deng notched his first double-double of the season, and Darryl Tucker added 27 points and 9 rebounds as then-No. 19 UWF (8-0, 1-0 GSC) downed then-No. 16 Valdosta State (6-1, 0-1 GSC) 97-88 at the UWF Field House Saturday afternoon. Rashaan Benson chipped in 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists as the Argos got the victory over the reigning regular season conference champs.
* The Argos outrebounded Valdosta State 38-33. UWF finished the contest 34 of 65 (52.3%) from the field, its most efficient shooting night so far this season. The win was the 13th in a row at home for UWF and the team's eighth in a row overall. If the team wins its next contest, it will match the longest win streak to start a season in school history.
* "It's a great win against a very good team, a top-20 team, a team that won the league last year," said head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "For our guys to give that kind of effort and help us get off to a 1-0 start in the conference is a big deal for us."
DENG WINS GSC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
* Senior Moter Deng was named Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week following an impressive performance in No. 19 West Florida's conference-opening 97-88 win over Valdosta State on Saturday.
* Deng, a 6-6 senior from Elgin, Ill., went 6-of-11 from the field and 10-of-10 from the line for 22 points and 10 rebounds in helping the Argos to a 97-88 victory. The Burlington Central and College of DuPage alum is averaging 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game so far this season.
* Burkhamer on Deng: "He worked so hard this summer," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer about Deng. "His skills have gotten better, and because his skills are now better, his confidence level has gone way up. He's playing terrific right now for us."
SCOUTING SPRING HILL
* The Badgers are 2-4 on the season. They notched a victory vs. Shorter (73-70) as part of the GSC-SIAC Crossover Challenge on Nov. 11 and beat Pensacola Christian College at home 104-61 Nov. 16. The team has suffered its first official loss (59-54) to Union as part of the GSC-SIAC Crossover Challenge Nov. 10. The team then dropped a contest to West Florida before losing to Mobile and Tuskegee. The team has played exhibitions vs. South Alabama, Samford, Nicholls State, and New Orleans, dropping all of them.
* Spring Hill is coached by Aaron Niven. This is his fifth season as the head coach of the Badgers. He has a career record at Spring Hill of 38-81.
* The Badgers went 10-18 overall last year and 9-8 in SIAC play, their best record in conference play under Niven.
* This year's SHC squad features four seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and four freshman. Senior Walter Massey was a preseason All-SIAC pick.
* The Badgers are currently being led by Brandon Fischer, who is averaging 14.8 points per game, and Deandre Lacy, who is averaging 12.0 points per game. The Badgers are getting 9.7 PPG from Massey.
* Spring Hill is currently outscoring opponents 71.50-70.67. The team is shooting .483 from the field and .385 from beyond the arc. The Badgers average 31.3 rebounds per game and are being led individually by Fischer, who is grabbing 5.8 per game.
* UWF is 7-0 vs. Spring Hill since 2014. The Argos have won each of the last four matchups by 10-plus points.
* UWF men's basketball defeated Spring Hill College 71-57 in the Arthur R. Outlaw Center Wednesday, Nov. 21. Rashaan Benson and Darryl Tucker each scored 18 points, and the Argos led for more than 38 minutes in the game, building a lead as large as 25.
BENSON CLIMBS ALL-TIME ASSISTS LIST
* Rashaan Benson continues to climb the all-time Argo assist leader list. The junior point guard began the year ninth on the list and, after 39 assists through eight games this year, now stands fifth with 261 career assists. He is just nine assists from equaling Maurice Thomas, who is fourth on the list with 270 career assists.
GSC/NCAA LEADERS
* Darryl Tucker currently leads the GSC with 11.1 rebounds per game, more than two per contest than Pedro Da Silva (Union), who is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game. Tucker also leads the GSC in field goal percentage at .696. He is fourth in the GSC with 1.4 blocks per game. As of Dec. 4, Tucker is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage and tied for ninth in the nation in rebounds per game.
* Moter Deng has hit 28 of 29 free throws so far this year. His .966 mark from the line is the best in the conference. As of Dec. 4, he is tied for fifth in the nation in free throw percentage.
* DJ Thorpe is tied for first in the GSC with 2.5 steals per game. As of Dec. 4, he is tied for 26th in the nation in steals per game.
* Rashaan Benson currently ranks third in the GSC with 4.9 assists per game and is tied for fourth in the conference with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.0.
* West Florida has surrendered 66.4 PPG so far this year, the third-best mark in the conference. The 12.1-point average margin of victory is the also the third-best mark in the GSC.
* UWF is currently third in the GSC in offensive rebounding with 13.0 per game. The Argos have the second-best turnover margin in the GSC, currently at +3.25 per game.
* The Argos have held opponents to a .414 shooting mark from the field, the third-lowest percentage in the conference.
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